Friday once again

Today was an incredible day!! It was filled with so many fun and adventurous activities.

 I had night shift last night so I spent the day going on only 3 hours of sleep but there was no time to be tired! 

We had planned to go to the equator today. Something I was very much looking forward to. 

Here are us volunteers in the car ready to go! It was about a 45 minute drive from our house to the equator. 

The entrance to the site. 

They first took us on a little tour around the place. They told lots of stories about Amazonian tribes. It was very interesting. My favorite was learning about how they used to do shrunken heads. 

(Me on the equator) 

We then got to the actual equator. They told us all about how the sun goes to the different hemispheres different months of the year. They had several sun dialed months and clocks. It was very cool to see.

They also had fun activities for us to do. This is a picture of me balancing an egg on a nail. Its not impossible to do anywhere else but it is very hard when not on the equator. It was also impossible to walk straight on the equator with your arms out and eyes closed without tipping over. It was like doing the sobriety test walking in a straight line heel toe heel toe and really not being able to do it. Very interesting how the force worked. It is also impossible for there to be a hurricane or tornado on the equator. And all hurricanes or tornados in the southern hemisphere go clockwise and all hurricanes and tornados in the northern hemisphere go counterclockwise. Just some random knowledge I gained while there.  

After the equator we headed to a restaurant nearby to try some guinea pig. Yes you read that right. Guinea pig is a delicacy here so we had to try it. 

They cook the whole entire thing on a stick rotisserie style over a fire. They let us pose with it for a picture. 

Bon Appétit!! We knew lots of people that had tried it and they said it tasted like chicken so I wasn't to nervous to take a bite. I just couldn't look at it for very long. It did taste a lot like chicken. It wasn't something I will probably ever want again though. It was a fun experience! 

After we finished eating... One volunteer even ate the brain and heart. 

We were grateful we didn't see the guinea pig coop until after we were done eating. 

When we were finished eating we headed to a nearby orphanage. This orphanage isn't supported by OSSO but the person that does support it is good friends with the people who do OSSO so they go there often to visit. I was excited to visit but didn't realize what an experience I was about to have. 

It is called the Remar Orphanage. Its an orphanage that houses 46 boys. All different ages. When we pulled in they all got so excited and just started waving like crazing and jumping up and down! It was awesome. 

The orphanage was pretty much in the middle of nowhere. We were out of the city and in a very rural part of Ecuador. 

These are the two houses. We didn't go inside but I was very curious to what it looked like. 

They had chicken coops, dogs, and guinea pigs on one side. 

Then in the front was just this huge cement patch. They had swings  and teeter totters and other fun toys. They had soccer set up of course and lots of balls and boy things.  

When we got out of the car they ran right up to us and grabbed our hands to come play with them. We jumped right in and had so much fun. They were seriously adorable! 

They loved my phone and how it had a forward facing camera. They loved to see themselves in the camera. 

The boys just started hanging  all over us and wanted us to spin them around and wrestle. Of course we did what they wanted and it was a blast. 

This little boy had a crush on me and kept following me around. Of course I was nothing but flattered. 

Doing one armed push ups trying to show off. Boys will be boys. 

The older boys loved playing soccer

This little boy was such a cutie. 

We had lots of fun on the teeter totters. The boys kept jumping on trying to make their side heavier than the other. We filled it to the max. 

We tried out best at a group picture but some of the boys were just not interested. 

And it turned into mad chaos, like usual. 

These boys are an inspiration to me. I felt nothing but pure happiness while I was there. It was an orphanage kind of like whats in the movies. It was just pure chaos of boys everywhere playing around with no supervision. Boys would get hurt and no one would come and make sure they were okay. Boys would fight and no one would break it up. It was very sad to see.  They stole my heart, showed me humility, and changed my life all in a few short hours! This definitely will go down as one of the most memorable experiences of my trip here. These boys have hardly anything. And anything they do have they have to share with 46 other boys. Their life is not anything easy. Yet they were so happy and so loving. I could honestly spend days with them, and I wish I could. I wish I could give them loving parents and a better life. God has a special plan for them and I am glad that I was able to be inspired by them today. It is a memory I will hold with me forever.